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Archive for the ‘Buildings’ Category

Shadows on the wall

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Gardens, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , on May 16, 2014| 4 Comments »

Everyday and everywhere there is something to see…

shadows from cactus & portico on orange wall

if we just open our eyes.

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Still life at CASA

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 10, 2014| Leave a Comment »

One of the stops while my gal pals were visiting two weeks ago was the Centro de las Artes de San Agustín (CASA), in San Agustín Etla.  This re-imagined former textile factory is one of the most esthetically pleasing spaces I’ve ever experienced.

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Even the recycling bins are exquisitely designed and placed!

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Cerrado? Oh no!

Posted in Buildings, Markets, Renovation, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , on April 2, 2014| 11 Comments »

Braving 90+º F temperatures this afternoon, I headed down to the, you-can-buy-anything-you-want, Mercado Benito Juárez.  This is my “go to” market for nueces (pecans), arándanos (dried cranberries), coffee beans, chapulines (grasshoppers), fruits, and vegetables.  There is also mole, meats, fish, textiles, flowers, souvenirs, piñatas, costumes, lucha libre masks, baskets, leather goods, hats, hair-care products, jewelry, and much more — the original “mall.”

Today, all I needed was my favorite tiny Dominico bananas and a couple of avocados.  However, suspicion set in when I noticed NO double-parked vehicles or even much traffic on Las Casas.  A bloqueo (blockade)?  No.  Muy extraño (very strange).  I crossed the street and walked down to my regular entrance into the market and noticed the corrugated metal doors of the vendor stalls along the street were tightly shut and then saw a sign at the gate to the market that read…

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Closed for maintenance work!!!  No reason why, no re-opening date, and no relocation site for the vendors was given.  I flashed on visions of the six-month renovation of my neighborhood, Mercado IV Centenario.  Hmmm… does it have something to do with the aguas negras (sewage), due to a short-circuit underground that was reported last week?  I’m guessing, yes.  According to today’s report in NSS Oaxaca, there is dredging going on (Oaxaca’s version of Roto Rooter?), vendors will then clean up (disinfect?) their stalls, and the mercado will reopen tomorrow.  Por favor, keep your fingers crossed.

Update:  Mercado Benito Juárez re-opened yesterday, as promised.  According to my favorite fruit and vegetable vendor, it was closed on Wednesday due to the aguas negras problem.

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A Sunday drive…

Posted in Animals, Buildings, Food, Geography, Restaurants, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on March 18, 2014| 8 Comments »

Domingo’s escape from the city out into the countryside of Oaxaca brought back one of my fondest childhood memories:  Sunday drives with my grandparents into the golden hills of northern California.  Two-lane winding roads with only the occasional car or pickup truck; farms, fields, and roadside stands outside my rolled down window always brought a sense of adventure mixed with freedom and serenity.  And, it still does…

Oaxaca city to Teotitlán del Valle, where we yielded to a herd of cattle.

Close-up white bull

Santiago Matalán past fields of agave to San Baltazar Chichicapam.

Agave fields with mountain in distance

We continued on the mostly deserted road  towards Octotlán de Morelos.

Tile roof lean-to on rocky outcrop

Onto Hwy. 175 and a lunch stop at the roadside restaurant, between Santo Tomás Jalieza and San Martín Tilcajete, from almost two weeks earlier.

Sign for Los Huamuches with tables in background

And this time we noted the name:  Los Huamuches.  Another delicious comida… a perfect way to end our meandering and head for home.

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Sitting on top of the world

Posted in Buildings, Churches, Creativity, Culture, Religion, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , on February 5, 2014| 5 Comments »

It’s amazing how sometimes light, shade, and a pristine backdrop can come together to highlight something you have looked at hundreds of times, but have never really seen.

Early last week, on a stunningly clear blue sky day, I passed the La Catedral de Nuestra Señora de la Asunción (the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption) and stopped dead in my tracks.

Mexican flag atop Cathedral

The flag must have been what initially caught my attention — it’s not an everyday occurrence — but what held my gaze were the three gals atop the Cathedral.

Seated female statue on top of Cathedral

I wondered, are they new?

Standing female statue on top of Cathedral

Once home, I scrolled through old photos I’d taken and sure enough there they were in every photo of the Cathedral’s facade.

Seated female statue with arm around child on top of Cathedral

Hmmm…  How could I have missed their imposing presence?

Now to find out who they represent.  (You can take the librarian away from the reference desk, but you can’t take the reference questions away from the librarian!)  Anybody out there have any answers???

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Take a giant step

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Music, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on December 10, 2013| 2 Comments »

The walls of Oaxaca remind me of words sung by Taj Mahal…

Part of mural in Jalatlaco on Callejón Hidalgo at corner of Aldama.

Excerpt from mural in Jalatlaco on Callejón de Hidalgo at Aldama

From Consolamentum installation by Jason Pfohl at Matria Arterapéutico.

From Consolamentum installation by Jason Pfohl at Matria Arterapéutico.

Remember the feeling as a child
When you woke up and morning smiled
It’s time, it’s time, it’s time you felt like that again

There is just no percentage in remembering the past
It’s time you learned to live again and love at last

Come with me, leave your yesterday, your yesterday behind
And take a giant step outside your mind

Listen to Taj Mahal’s version of Take a Giant Step by Gerry Goffin and Carole King.

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Now you see it, now you don’t…

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , on November 25, 2013| 5 Comments »

A neighbor and I were standing on the upper terrace of our apartment complex, watching the guys paint the dome of Iglesia de San José (a future blog post), when I looked to the south…  Hmmm, I’d never noticed the art on the side of that tall yellow building — and neither had she.  I whipped out my little Lumix and took this photo at 12:25 PM.

12:25 PM

At 12:26 PM, I was about to take a second shot when the guy, his staff, and the little church at his feet, began climbing up the side of the building.  Whoa!!!

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By 12:27 PM, they were gone…

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At 4:02, while composing this blog post, I got up from my desk to take a look at the building again — trying to figure out where exactly this banana yellow 3+ story building is located.  Imagine my surprise when I saw the guy and his staff back on the side of the building AND his twin on the far right.

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What the @#$% ???  Unable to curb my curiosity, I took off in search of my on/off/on again friend.  At 4:34 PM, walking south on Tinoco y Palacios (which becomes, J. P. García),  I found him at 308 J. P. García (almost to Las Casas), hanging out above Veana (one of my “go to” shops for kitchen ware).

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At 4:35 PM, from across the street, I stood on the sidewalk gazing up at this reappearing painting on the side of the building.  ¡Un milagro!

P1000118At 4:36 PM, I still don’t understand…  What was it we saw earlier today?  A stencil?  Artists, can you enlighten me?  All I can say is, I am VERY glad this painter is fastened to a harness.  Of course, I’m hoping it’s not just being hand-held by the two guys on top of the building!

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People often ask, “What do you DO all day?”  This is as good an answer as I can come up with!

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Revolution Day in Oaxaca

Posted in Buildings, Celebrations, Culture, History, Holidays, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , on November 20, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Today Mexico is celebrating el Día de la Revolución (Revolution Day).  It commemorates the beginning of the bloody revolution that quickly drove dictator/president Porfirio Díaz from his 31-year long reign.  A November 22, 1910 headline in the Palestine [Texas] Daily Herald proclaimed, “Revolution Is Now On In Mexico: The Real Thing is Reported Under Way in State of Chihuahua, Mexico.”  However, the civil war raged on for ten years, as various factions battled for power and the peasantry fought for, in the words of Emiliano Zapata, ¡Tierra y libertad!  (Land and liberty!)  It is estimated to have cost 1.9 to 3.5 million lives.

At least here in Oaxaca, 20 de noviembre is not celebrated with as much pomp, circumstance, and military hardware as September 16th, Independence Day.  However, there were school floats…

The Government Palace was decked out in green, white, and red and the Governor, along with other dignitaries, presided from its balcony.

As always, the bomberos (firefighters) received much applause as they passed by the crowds gathered along the parade route.

Not so much love given to these guys from the Agencia Estatal de Investigaciones, an agency of Oaxaca’s Attorney General’s office.

And then there was this gal, directly across from the Government Palace…

Octavio Paz writes in The Labyrinth of Solitude, “The Revolution began as a demand for truth and honesty in the government…. Gradually the movement found and defined itself, in the midst of battle and later when in power.  Its lack of a set program gave it popular authenticity and originality.  This fact accounts for both its greatness and its weaknesses.” [p. 136, Grove Pr. 1985]

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Bright lights, small city

Posted in Buildings, Celebrations, Culture, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on September 26, 2013| 3 Comments »

Early Wednesday evening, I walked down to the Palacio de Gobierno to see Dreamer, one of the Oaxaca FilmFest4 offerings.  It had been raining on and off all day and so, to lighten my load and make room for my umbrella, I left my camera at home.  Why would I need it?  I was just going to be sitting in a small dark theater.  Sheesh, was I mistaken!  It was twilight when I entered the Palace via the side door on Flores Magón, but we were directed to exit through the main front entrance — and I was blown away by the scene before me.  The rain-soaked zócalo glistened and glittered, awash with El Mes de la Patria green, white, and red lights.

Needless to say, last night when I returned to watch, Twenty Million People, I took my camera!

Government Palace lit with green, white, & red lights

Heroes of the independence movement, Hidalgo and Morelos in the spotlight as they gaze down from the Government Palace.  I always forget how beautiful the zócalo is at night!

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Out of the street, into the museum!

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 18, 2013| 4 Comments »

Oaxaca is alive with street art these days — even more than usual and that’s saying a lot!  As part of their Hecho en Oaxaca (Made in Oaxaca) exhibition, the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca (Museum of Contemporary Art of Oaxaca) invited a dozen well-known and accomplished urban artists to transform the walls of the museum and the Historic District of the city.

A lifetime ago, prior to becoming a librarian, I was a registered nurse, first working in a hospital and then as a visiting nurse.  The current MACO exhibit reminded me of one of the primary reasons why I much preferred the latter — it was the creativity needed in creating treatment plans to provide care in a patient’s often-times challenging home environment.

The imagination and inventiveness required to create art on crumbling walls with windows, doors, meters, and electrical boxes, never ceases to amaze me.  As you can see below, even in MACO, that same vision is evident in the use of the museum’s many rooms and courtyards — including incorporating doorways, window sills, and colonial era frescos.

 Yescka…

Wall in Oaxaca’s Historic District
MACO

Retna…

Pan Am restaurant on Matamoros
MACO

Dr Lakra…

Porfirio Díaz at corner of Jesús Carranza
MACO

Swoon…

Calle Tinoco y Palacios
MACO

Saner…

Mercado IV Centenario
MACO

If you love Oaxaca’s street art, get yourself to MACO.  The exhibition runs through the first week of October 2013.

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Technicolor

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Transportation, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged , , , , , , , , , on July 7, 2013| 3 Comments »

Ahhh…  I’m back in my new and improved Casita Colibrí.  Friday night, with lightning flashing all around the Embraer, my fellow passengers and I bounced our way across Mexico and back to Oaxaca.  Gracias, Hurricane Erick for Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride!  With appreciation and relief, spontaneous applause erupted when the little plane landed.

There have been many changes in the 7 weeks I’d been gone…  Juan finished the screens on my doors and windows; they are beautifully made and not a single mosquito has been seen or heard!  I left at the end of the dry season; golden-brown hills and fields and a constant coating of dust dulled nature’s and human-applied colors.  I returned to the lush green hills and fields of the rainy season and the lustrous green leaves and red-orange blossoms of my African tulip trees.

And, new street art gleamed…

New art in courtyard of MACO.
New mural on Tinoco y Palacios.
New restaurant at 400 Matamoros.

Oaxaca in technicolor!

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What’s in a name?

Posted in Buildings, Food, Language, Parks & Plazas, Signs, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 23, 2013| Leave a Comment »

In Oaxaca, a molino is an indispensable business in every village.  Dried corn, cacao beans, chiles, herbs, spices, nuts, and seeds are brought to the molino to be ground so they can be turned into the staples found on Oaxaca’s tables — tamales, tortillas, tlayudas, tejate, mole, Oaxacan chocolate, and much mouth-watering more!  Below is a miller of corn in Tamazulápam del Espíritu Santo, in the Mixe region of Oaxaca.

Sign painted on side of building "Molino de Nixtamal"

In Mill Valley, Molino is a colorful place-name, a street and a park, that recalls California’s Spanish and Mexican past.

Wooden sign: "Welcome to Molino Park"

“Suburbia is where the developer bulldozes out the trees, then names the streets after them. ”  —Bill Vaughan

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Anywhere you hang your hat

Posted in Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Exhibitions, Gardens, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on June 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

3 straw hats on concrete wall

Still life at Matria, Jardín Arterapéutico.

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Matria, 3 weeks later

Posted in Agriculture, Buildings, Creativity, Culture, Environment, Gardens, People, Science & Nature, Travel & Tourism, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on April 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »

On this Earth Day, I thought I’d post photos of the Matria, Jardín Arterapéutico project.  These were taken 3 weeks after my previous visit.  Despite 90+° (F) temperatures since the garden was planted, it is thriving and very few plants have been lost.

The key to the garden’s success?  Megan Glore and her team of volunteers are listening to what the plants are telling them and responding accordingly — just as we should all be doing with Mother Earth.

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Lluvia!!!

Posted in Buildings, Travel & Tourism, Weather, tagged , , , , , , , on April 4, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Was it December?  Maybe it was November the last time the city saw rain… until this afternoon.  Those specks you see are very welcome raindrops on my window.

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It brought thunder and lightning, but fell gently.  It only lasted an hour, but cooled and cleansed the air.

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I can see clearly now…

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